NYC restaurant owners fear the looming tariffs on European wines and spirits will slam their bottom line – with some popular haunts concerned the levies could force them out of business, Side Dish has learned.
President Trump has threatened to impose a 200% duty on booze from the European Union after the EU vowed to levy a 50% tax on American whisky, which it would roll out in early April.
While Trump may scale back the size of his tariff as part of his negotiating ploy, the growing trade war poses an existential threat to recently opened restaurants like Boni & Mott in Nolita.
The family-run Mediterranean eatery is dependent on wine sales as it awaits a full liquor license, owner Mehdi Mokrani told Side Dish.
Mokrani said wine sales generate around half of all revenue at Boni & Mott. Many of the vintages on the wine list were hand-picked from small producers, usually family-run wineries in France and Italy that focus on biodynamic, organic wine.
“Restaurants rely on selling booze. If the tariffs go up, it will put us out of business,” Mokrani said.
Top chef Eric Ripert, of the esteemed three Michelin starred Le Bernardin, and co-owner of the Aldo Sohm Wine Bar, said that restaurants are prepared for some kind of tariff, perhaps more in the 20% to 25% range — like the kind Trump ordered in 2019. Those tariffs were repealed by President Biden.
“I think there will be a tariff, but not 200%. The last time Trump was in power we had a 25% tax on wines [from France, Spain, the UK and Germany] as well as other luxury items, like truffles. A tariff in that range isn’t good for the importers or us or the clients, but it’s manageable — unlike 200%,” Ripert said.
Ripert added that his wine lists are global, so he will be hurt less than others that are more European focused.
“I’m pretty optimistic it won’t happen. It seems very exaggerated although of course it is a possibility. American businesses that import wine will be penalized,” Ripert said.
A 200% tariff would devastate major wine and spirit importers, as well as distributors.
“We hope our friends in Europe won’t be affected, but we can always sell more wines from New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and South Africa,” Ripert said.
Kylie Monagan, who co-owns the popular Amali on East 60th Street and Calissa in the Hamptons, said that a 200% tariff would be a “death blow to an industry already crippled by the pandemic, soaring costs and changes in consumer spending.”
It’s even worse for wine importers, like Monagan’s husband, Iacopo di Teodoro, of Classica Wine Merchant.
“It’s a decimation of everything,” Monagan said. “It’s not just the fact that there could be tariffs but it’s the uncertainty of it.”
“When you are talking about goods shipped from overseas, products sent to the US before the announcement will incur a tariff you aren’t expecting — so a small shipment could have a $600,000 unexpected additional charge that has to be paid upfront. It’s a cash flow nightmare,” Monagan added.
The high tariff threat comes as alcohol sales have been hampered by inflation, the rise of the sober curious movement – and even the legalization of cannabis in New York.
“Prices of wine by the glass and bottle are already crazy in New York, where restaurants are already operating under such a thin profit margin, and it will continue to get more expensive,” Monagan said.
Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, agreed that any tariff costs will ultimately be borne by the consumer.
“Tariffs on alcohol will drive up costs for restaurants and bars that serve imported wine and spirits, forcing them to raise prices for customers, absorb the financial hit, or remove many wines and spirits from their menus — all bad options that hurt small businesses and consumers,” Rigie said.
